


New Year's Eve

by talienfey



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 20:31:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2825207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talienfey/pseuds/talienfey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoi Kurashiki meets up with Light Field and waits to find out if the world will end on December 31, 2028.  Zecret Santa 2014!</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Year's Eve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crashkeys (Tempo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tempo/gifts).



> HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO KEYCRASH (keycrash.tumblr.com!)
> 
> This is for the Zecret Santa 2014 (zecretsanta.tumblr.com) which is fantastic and you all should definitely look forward to all the works submitted! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it!

_December 31, 2028_

 

Aoi Kurashiki stared out from the edge of the roof into the vast darkness of the desert night. It was unusually warm in Nevada this December. Although the sun had set a few hours ago, it was still above freezing—but not by much, and there was a distinct chill in the air. He was beginning to regret shrugging off his black leather jacket as soon as he'd reached the rooftop, but it wasn't too far away—it was resting on one of the folding chairs he'd set up a few hours ago in preparation for this night.  
  
He was only waiting for his single companion to arrive, and then the countdown would begin.  
  
The countdown to find out if the world was going to end.  
  
The young man stretched his arms over his head, then tilted his face up to the sky, letting out a puff of air that appeared as steam momentarily before fading away. There were no clouds. Dimmed only by the moon's brightness and not the lights of the city, thousands of stars crowded the sky. He found it comforting, somehow. No matter what happened here tonight down on earth, he knew that the stars would remain, impassive and beautiful, to observe it.  
  
“Aoi?” A soft voice called from the door that led back down into the building. He turned his head to see his companion, Light Field, balancing a tray with a carafe and two mugs on one arm as he opened the door. He grinned, hopping off of the building's edge to help his friend.  
  
“Still here,” he said, taking the tray from the blind man and walking it towards the chairs. He settled it on a raised vent between them. “You were thinking I was gonna disappear again, huh?”  
  
“No,” Light replied, with his usual calm smile. “I had faith you wouldn't leave me, certainly not at this point where I need you the most.”  
  
Aoi blushed, grateful for a moment that Light couldn't see how flustered he made him. He gave a short, awkward cough to cover his embarrassment and sat down in one of the chairs firmly. Light handed him a cup of coffee—sweetened, the way he was embarrassed to say he took it. The other man had never asked, but somehow simply knew exactly how to make Aoi the perfect cup.  
  
Aoi shivered and finally found his way back into his jacket. He looked over at Light, his peaceful profile backlit by the neon sign of the motel below them. It had been a strange few days to bring them back together, and he certainly had never expected to be sitting with him, enjoying coffee, and waiting to find out if the world would end tonight.  
  
  
\-------------------------------------------------  
  
  
The last time he had seen his sister was December 20. She'd been sitting in his Las Vegas hotel room, sipping coffee and staring out the window at the evening rainstorm when he awoke. Aoi had just finished dressing after a shower, although he was still drying his snow-white hair when he stepped into the main room. He'd blinked, then relaxed, realizing she was still there—not a hallucination, not a wish.  
  
“Aoi,” she said with a smile. It wasn't the open, sweet grin she'd had as a child, before Hongou had ripped her innocence away and trapped the two of them in a decade long nightmare. Places in her face that used to soften and warm when she smiled were now motionless, hardened.  
  
“I wasn't expecting to see you for a while,” Aoi said, tossing the towel from under his neck and dropping back onto the bed. “I thought you'd be gone for fifty years.”  
  
“No,” Akane said, leaning her chin into her hands as she turned back to the window. “Not in this timeline, at least.”  
  
“So something's changed?” he asked, perking up a little. She tilted her head, but didn't respond for a minute.  
  
“I wonder,” she finally said.  
  
He looked at her blank face. It was hard to understand his sister, or what she had become during the time loop where she had been both alive and dead. He'd felt a fraction of what she had as she guided him into building the Nonary Game, kidnapping the participants and finally reviving her fully. She'd been close to him sometimes, like a real sister, then sometimes like a thought, or ghost, guiding him gently into what she needed for her resurrection—or prevention of her death, he couldn't quite comprehend it all fully. The entire time felt like a nightmare that had never fully ended.  
  
And during that time, Akane had changed. The bright, happy preteen he had known—had practically raised on his own—was now someone he couldn't quite define as human. Even though her body had been fully restored, she had seen things that put an edge to her, a coldness.  
  
This was never what he had wanted for her. He'd wanted college, then marriage—maybe even to her childhood sweetheart, although he'd always been neutral to the thought of Junpei—children, anything that would give Akane a long, normal, and happy life. He had never wanted her to carry the weight of the world on her small shoulders. Perhaps she hadn't either, but she had still accepted it up on herself. Was it guilt from manipulating fate in order to guarantee her survival? Or was it love, not just for him, Junpei, and the others she'd met and cared about in her short life, but a love for humanity itself? He wasn't sure.  
  
She'd cried one night, long, hard sobs that made him truly fear her mind was finally collapsing under it all. He finally got her to speak, and that was when she had warned him. “ _The world is going to end this year, unless it doesn't,_ ” she'd said. “ _I have to make sure it doesn't._ ”  
  
“ _Why you?_ ” he'd asked, tightening his grip around her. “ _Why does it always gotta be you, Kanny? Why does it always have to be my little sister?_ ”  
  
“ _Because no one else can,_ ” she said softly, her voice muffled as she finished crying into his chest. And then she'd left again, and he knew that he wouldn't see her for a long time.  
  
“I have a present for you,” Akane said, bringing him back to the present as she slowly sat up. “I left it on the counter.”  
  
“Is it booze?” Aoi asked with a sardonic grin, knowing his sister hated the habit he'd picked up. She finally looked at him, but didn't rise to the bait.  
  
“I hope you never hear anything on it,” she said. His eyebrows furrowed at the strange comment, and he stood up and walked over to the small bag. He reached inside, and pulled out an old fashioned radio. “It's already set to the correct frequency.”  
  
“What am I not supposed to hear?” he asked, turning to her. She was looking out the window again, and he saw her thoughts completely vanish for a moment, as if she was seeing not just this world, but another where a raindrop had slid down the left side of the window instead of the right.  
  
“A woman,” she replied after a moment. “Her name is Diana. You won't get to meet her, but you'll know her voice.” She looked at him directly, and he realized that her eyes had grown even darker than the last time he'd seen her. “On December 31st... She'll let you know if the world ends or not. If you hear her, then... it's over, but if you don't by the time it's the first...”  
  
 _Oh_. He stared down at the radio in his hand. “What if I don't want to know?” he finally asked.  
  
“You will,” Akane said softly. “And there's one more thing.”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“The Fields.” He understood immediately that she was talking about the family, not the concept.  
  
“What about them? I thought they'd settled into things pretty nicely, with that coffee shop and music career.” Akane smiled, as if she was remembering the thing he described. It faded as she spoke again.  
  
“They had been, but they were recruited. To look for Junpei.”  
  
“Junpei?” Aoi frowned. “Is he missing?”  
  
“No,” Akane said. Her face darkened. “They're lying. They really want the Esper's power on their side. And I can't blame them, with what they're fighting against.” Her fingers curled around her coffee cup, and she stared at the rising steam. “Clover is going to be kidnapped, though.”  
  
“By who?” Aoi was frowning harder.  
  
“Us,” Akane said with a sad smile. “Me, specifically, I guess. But Light... he'll... he'll really need you.”  
  
The thought of the graceful, witty Esper as a broken, tormented being, the way his sister had been when she thought he was dead, gave Aoi's heart a painful twinge. He tried to shake it off. “Wait, why me?” he asked. “And why are we kidnapping Clover—why are we putting them through that hell again? We're not telling him?”  
  
“You can tell him if you like, but I'm not sure it'll be easy to accept,” Akane said. “We _need_ Clover in the future. If... if things fail, he won't get to see her again in this timeline. But if it all works out... the timeline in which they all live peacefully will be created.”  
  
“Kanny...” He recognized the self-loathing in her voice breaking through her calm. He set the radio down and walked over, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. A sudden sob shook her, and she grabbed his hand, holding it tightly.  
  
“Please forgive me, Aoi. I'm so, so sorry. I hope that you never hear that radio. I hope this time, it's the right one, where we finally...” Her voice trailed off, and she looked up at him, her violet eyes brimming with tears. “I love you, Aoi,” she finally said. “You are the most wonderful brother, the most wonderful family I could have ever asked for. I hope this time... I hope this time I finally get it right.”  
  
He didn't answer, and just held his sister as she cried.  
  
  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
“You're lost in thought.” It was a calm observation. Aoi looked at Light. The other man was sitting still, facing forward. It was a shame he couldn't see the beauty of the night, or even how perfect he looked with the bright moonlight caressing his perfect features. Aoi sat back in his chair, sipping his coffee.

  
“Yeah, a little bit.” He looked down at the radio he'd set on the building's thick edge in front of them. “Tonight's gonna be a hell of a long night.”  
  
“Are you afraid?” Light turned his face towards Aoi, who let out a shrug and a sigh.  
  
“Dunno. Honestly, I feel like I've lived through so much in the past ten years, not much really scares me anymore. I already lost my only family, and I got her back. So whatever the world throws at me, I'll counter.” He stared up at the moon. “No matter what.”  
  
Light gave a soft laugh. Aoi frowned. “What?”  
  
“No, I'm not laughing at you,” he said, shaking his head. “I'm more amused at the fact that destiny still throws things your way, when it's clear you have the capability to get through anything.” He smiled, and Aoi once again felt his cheeks burning at the praise.  
  
“Well, you know,” he stammered. “It's just life, right? You do what you have to to get by.”  
  
“Something like that, I suppose,” Light replied, taking a sip of his own drink.  
  


 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

He was leaning against the corner of a nearby building when Light had exited the police station. He was pretending to smoke as he waited. Light crossed the street, and headed, unknowing, towards his hiding spot. The elegant man was walking quickly, tapping a stick that Aoi doubted he actually needed in front of him. His face seemed serene to passerby, but Aoi could tell that he was horribly stressed.  
  
It was only a slightly overcast day, with a chill in the air, so the streets were not as busy as he'd expected. It was a relief—he didn't know exactly how Light would take his appearing in his life again so suddenly, and the less people, the easier it would be to escape if it all went wrong.

“Hey,” he said as Light walked past him, sounding casual despite the pounding in his chest. The stick's tapping stopped. Light was frozen, tilting his head as if he wasn't quite sure he believed what he had heard. 

  
Aoi pushed away from the wall and stood in front of him, tossing the cigarette butt to the ground and stepping on it. Light's worried expression was overtaken by one of surprise.  
  
“Aoi Kurashiki.” It was a statement, not a question. Light—whether by his voice, or by however he 'saw' things—had recognized Aoi without the need for further confirmation. Aoi waited to see how he would react from there—anger? Confusion? Or maybe even a little fear?  
  
The two men stood silently, only a few feet a part from each other. Aoi shifted awkwardly, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. Light was examining him—somehow, he couldn't understand it—but he knew that the other man was trying to glean information from him without using any words.  
  
Finally, Light spoke. “Aoi. I did not expect to see you again... Why are you here? Do you know where Clover is?” His voice raised as his emotion took over. “Please, tell me.”  
  
A couple passing by looked a bit interested in their conversation, so Aoi jerked his shoulder towards a nearby cafe. Though he doubted they were with Free the Soul or SOIS, he didn't want to take any chances. “We can talk in there. It's cold, right?”  
  
Light nodded wordlessly and followed him, resuming the use of his stick. The tapping was erratic, nervous—he was positive now that Light was bullshitting and had no need for extra support for his disability. He guessed it was more to avoid alarm from people who did not immediately realize he was blind.  
  
They sat at a secluded table, and Aoi ordered two coffees. Light did not speak, and simply waited. The waitress brought their order and left. Aoi let out a deep breath, unsure how to begin.  
  
“I know where she is,” he finally said. “At least, I know who she's with.”  
  
“Akane.” Light's voice was certain. Aoi nodded, taking a sip of his coffee and grimacing at the bitter taste. He wondered how much information Light had guessed, or that he'd unconsciously telegraphed to him through the fields, in the past few minutes.  
  
“Yeah. I dunno if you can understand her—I don't think I can even understand her—but she says it's important. _World-ending_ important. I believe her.”  
  
Light sat back, his arms crossed. He appeared completely at ease, but Aoi could see the whites of his knuckles as he gripped his arms tightly.  
  
He gulped before continuing. “You know Akane will do all she can to keep her safe, right?” he said half-heartedly.  
  
Light let out a soft, sardonic laugh. “Even you don't believe that.” He finally loosened himself enough to pick up his mug, taking a small sip. He inhaled deeply and released it slowly. “You know that I, of all people, understand her methods.”  
  
“I don't think there's anyone on the planet who can understand her as she is now,” Aoi said, more to himself than his companion. He looked up. “You know I can't help you find her. I can't interfere with Akane.”  
  
“Loyalty?” Light asked bitterly, picking up his cup again. Aoi shook his head.  
  
“No. Trust. I trust her completely. Even though I know... I know that she can't control how things turn out... and they might not be for the best no matter how hard she tries.” He stared through his steaming coffee, remembering a dark dream of a time where he'd held his sister's ashes and wailed.  
  
Light held his cup up as he mused. “She set everything up so there was a way out where no one would be hurt, but it was up to us to find that way.”  
  
Aoi nodded, flushing as he remembered stuffing this man, unconscious, into a coffin, and hoping that the group would successfully free him later. He remembered how pale and fragile Light had looked, as if he was a porcelain statue, lying in the box with his hands folded over himself, corpse-like. He remembered how Clover had screamed, and guilt stabbed through him. He let out a deep breath slowly, staring through the table into his memories. He closed his eyes.  
  
“I know it probably... doesn't help, but we'll find out for sure on New Year's. There's a place in Nevada where I'll be waiting.” He looked up. “Come with me.”  
  
He was surprised at how much the request had sounded like a plea. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving this man alone, broken, without his sister... the way he had been (and had not been) years ago.  
Light seemed to think for a bit as he sipped his coffee. He slowly nodded. “Yes. I would... like that.”

Aoi gave a small grin. “I guess I'll see you December 31st, then.”

“I believe we might say that it is a date,” Light replied, a small smile finally tugging at his lips. Aoi flushed, and hurried to finish his coffee.  
  
As the two man sat there for a few hours, silent but at ease with each other as business in the cafe began to pick up, he slowly began to feel hopeful again.  
  
  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He had expected they would travel separately, but after the cafe, he'd found himself invited to the Field's apartment, and had stayed there for the next several days. Although they spoke of many things, they carefully avoided the subject of Clover or Akane. Light played the harp for him, and he found a peace he hadn't felt for a long time in those days. 

And then they had flown to Nevada, then driven to the small town of Rachel, where they had set up in the sole motel, and then up to the roof, where they currently sat, waiting. He realized he could dimly hear a program from the proprietor's office beginning the New Year's countdown.  
  
  
  
“ _Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, sixteen..._ ”  
  
  
  
“Are you afraid?” Light asked calmly, turning his face towards Aoi. The other man shook his head.  
  
“No,” he lied, and he knew that Light was aware of it. He closed his eyes, trying to will the small radio in front of them to stay silent, for the transmission Akane had foreseen to never come. _This time... again... please let things work out..._  
  
  
“Ten... nine... eight... seven...”  
  
  
  
He felt a gentle touch on his wrist, and then Light's hand slowly glided into his. He clutched it, firmly, holding onto their bond like a lifeline.  
  
His heart felt as if it were going to stop as he faintly heard the countdown reach the final numbers.

 

“ _Six...five... four... three... two..._ ”  
  
  
  
In the moment between two and one, he felt an eternity. And then suddenly, it was over.  
  
The sound of the program below erupted into cheers, and they heard the motel owner clapping. Aoi's heart seemed to restart, and he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He turned to his companion, smiling. Light squeezed his hand, and his grin grew wider.  
  
“Hey... happy new year, Light.”  
  
“I look forward to spending more of them with you in the future, Aoi.”

 


End file.
